How our kids see themselves has a huge impact on the decisions they make. Let me tell you a story.
Few days ago I was waiting for my wife (seldom happens) in a waiting room when a young mother and her daughter – whom I’d guess to be about four – came in and sat near me. Pleasant lady. Pretty little girl…let’s call her Charlotte.
For maybe ten minutes Charlotte sat quietly on her mother’s lap. Then the receptionist appeared and needed some information. Before she walked away she spoke to the little girl – who didn’t respond. But the mother did. She looked at her daughter and said, “She is lazy and spoiled rotten.” That’s what she said; I wrote it down.
Even though I felt like it, I said nothing. I have to admit, I was thinking: “Lazy? At four? Come on, Mom, give her a break.
Spoiled rotten? How do kids get “spoiled?”
The thing that troubled me, though, was that this little kindergartner was old enough and smart enough to understand what her mother was saying. And since the words came from her mother, she’ll likely believe them. So what is Charlotte learning to think about herself and how the other important people in her life feel about her? That’s the mirror our kids look in.
Now, I said nothing. Should I have? If so, what? Would you have said something? Let’s get creative here and see if next time we meet a Charlotte we can help her, even if just a little. Do you have a Charlotte?
